Monday, July 28, 2008

Senate Guard Images

Senate Guard/Blue Guard Images:


Episodes 1 & 2:










Episode 3:



Senate Guard Blaster:

Friday, July 25, 2008

Measurement Chart

Here's a quick, rough sketch to give an idea of what measurements I will need from someone when making a costume for them.

All measurements should be taken while standing with feet shoulder width apart (note that the figure in my sketch is standing with its legs a little too far apart). The arm length should be taken with the arm at your side, elbow bent. If at all possible, get someone to assist you. Measurements shown with arrows > > indicate that the measurement should go all the way around the body and meet back at the starting point.

(Click on image for larger view)

Measurement key:

1: Height
2: Shoulder to Ankle
3: Neck
4: Chest
5: Waist (natural waist, not necessarily where you wear your pants.)
6: Hip (over fullest part of your buns and hips)
7: Inseam (crotch to ankle)
8: Wrist
9: Arm length (base of neck to wrist)


For coveralls, like pilot flight suits, I also need a "torso" measurement. This measurement goes around the shoulder, across the chest, between the legs, up across the back, and joins at the starting point. See the sketch below:


(Click on image for a larger view)

10. Torso


For Jedi, here are the measurements I'll need:

Measurement Key:

A= Width from wrist to wrist over the shoulders. This measurement is best taken with your arms at your side and bent at the elbows.
B= Shoulder seam to waist seam.
C= Waist seam to where you want the tunic to end.


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

[Classic] Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica!


Left to right: Apollo, Commander Adama, and Starbuck )
Thanks to RichardHatch.com for the image. (Richard Hatch played Apollo.)

Intro:

My favorite childhood TV show was Battlestar Galactica. I could hear the theme song in the other room and come running because I knew my show was on! Now that I've grown up, I think it's time to finally make myself a Colonial Warrior/Viper pilot uniform like my two childhood heroes, Starbuck and Apollo, wore.

I started my journey toward figuring out patterns for the uniform at the beginning of the year, but I have gotten bogged down and the passion for it has died out a little. I have a slow-down in commissions at the moment, so I am going to attempt to get the fire going again and get some patterns made up. I know I have quite a few people over at the Dewback Wing who are waiting to see what I come up with! :) Sorry for the delay guys!

I'll post what I come up with here, so keep looking for new info.

Obviously, the two main characters are men and there really isn't a shortage of images of Apollo or Starbuck in uniform. So I was very thankful for the episode "Lost Planet of The Gods" where there were a lot of women in uniform. This helps me quite a bit in creating a uniform to fit a female figure. (I do plan to make a male uniform pattern as well, but for obvious reasons, I want the female version!)


Eventually, when time, money and space permit (he'll have to share space in our house with my 1:1 RC controlled R2-D2), I would absolutely LOVE to make my own 1:1 RC controlled Muffy the "daggit". He was my favorite character when I was little.

Costume Notes:

The Colonial Warrior and Bridge officer uniforms were made out of a fabric called "Butter Suede" which was quite common in the 1970s. The bridge uniform pants and tunic were made of blue butter suede with silver and black trim. The Colonial warrior/Viper pilot uniform tunic and pants were made of tan butter suede with gold and black trim. The Colonial warrior/Viper pilot uniform was also commonly seen with a dark brown butter suede jacket that had leather shoulders and gold buckles.

My first pattern making focus will likely be the Colonial warrior tunic, then I will focus on the pants, and move to the jacket.

Stay "tuned" for more...

Thursday, July 17, 2008

2 Jawas

Utinii!!!!

I was commissioned to sew a set of Jawa costumes for two boys. I put the finishing touches on the robes today.

Like the movie Jawa costumes, the hoods are a separate piece from the robes, fully lined with black fabric, and have a section of wire in the front to hold the hood open, away from the face. Also, like the movie Jawa costumes, the robes do not have separate sleeves, the robe is all one piece of fabric, folded at the shoulders and sewn under the arms and down the sides, in a basic "T" pattern.

(I took some pictures, though my dress forms don't do the robes justice, since they are adult female dress forms and are too big for the male child Jawa robes. However, it gives you a bit of an idea what they'd look like being worn. In the pictures below, black towels were balanced on top of my dress forms to help give the hoods some shape.)



Monday, July 14, 2008

Padme Amidala [Skywalker] Episode 3 Aqua Georgette gown

After finally deciding to go ahead with making this gown, I purchased some georgette fabric and some DMC thread to go along with the blue/aqua satin fabric I already had.

I created my own bodice yoke pattern based off of images found at Padawan's Guide.

I waited until I got to a "stopping point" with my Senator Amidala gown before starting on the embroidery for the aqua georgette. Utilizing images from Padawan's Guide (of course!) I started to trace out the pattern for the Naboo symbols and have begun the process of hand embroidering the georgette.

I began on July 3rd, here is my progress so far:
Lying flat on the table



On the dress form.

To see my original musing on whether to do this gown or not, visit my Ghostbusters post.

AOTC Senator Amidala gown progress

July 3rd, I got to a "stopping" point on the beading for my Senator Amidala gown. I wanted to get to a certain point before setting it aside to work on another gown that I will use for Halloween. Here is my progress up to this point:
When I finish with the other gown, I will return to this one. I still need to add the collar beading and "flower" jewels. The "butterfly" beading also gets a layer of flower jewels and beading similar to the collar beading. I haven't yet figured out what I will attach the beads to, since the original was probably taken from a vintage/antique garment and was already sewn onto fabric (or possibly interfacing) before being sewn onto the Padme gown.

Lady Ghost

(I finished my lady ghost "over gown" quite some time ago, but never posted a progress on it.)

I used some left-over satin material (shiny side in) from a previous Halloween costume for the bodice and sleeve "cuffs". I even had some left-over trim that I used on the bodice as well. I actually used the patterns my Mom & I picked up for the bridesmaids gowns for my wedding! I had purchased some tulle netting from JoAnn's while they were having a 2 yards for $1 sale, so I wasn't afraid to tear into it. So, after I got the bodice done, and attached the tulle sleeves that were cut out using the pattern, I tore my tulle into several pieces. It felt horrible and strangely wonderful all at the same time!

After I got the tulle shredded and torn the way I liked, I sewed gathering stitches in each piece and I put them onto the bodice at the empire waist line and sewed them in place. After I had them sewn onto the bodice, I placed the "gown" onto my dress form and tore the netting some more to make it look "ghostly" and old.


Here are pictures of my lady ghost over gown. It will be worn over my Padme Amidala [Skywalker] Episode 3 "Aqua Georgette" gown, when I finish it.

To see the original post on this gown visit: Ghostbusters

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Cinderella dress at the party

Here is the Cinderella dress I made for our daughter's 2nd birthday as she is wearing it during the party:




The dress ended up being a little too big, but this way she can wear it longer! :)

To see my first post about this gown, click here

Hoth Pocket Patterns

I had a request for the dimensions of the Hoth Jacket pockets, and I thought others might like to see/use what I came up with.

Here they are (click on the picture for a larger view):


Dimensions-

Right Arm Pocket flap: 6" Wide across the top
1 3/4" sides (before it starts to angle)
2 1/2" High from center top to tip of angle

Right Arm Pocket tab slot: 2 1/2" Wide X 2" High (with 1/4" seam allowed)

Right Arm Pocket tab: 1 3/4" W X 2 1/8" H (with 1/4" seam allowed)

Right Arm Pocket: 6 1/4" W X 6 1/8" H

Right Arm Color Blocks "patch": 5" W X 3 1/2" H (with 1/2" seam allowed)
[The color blocks themselves are roughly 1" W X 1/2" H]

Left Arm Pocket: 8 1/4" W X 7 5/8" H

Unless otherwise noted, I have given everything 5/8" seam allowance (for turning under) and 1" hem allowed at the top/opening edges of the Right and Left arm pockets.

The color pattern for the color block patch is:
Each block is grey/silver except the lower left is red and the very center block is blue.

For the full tutorial on the Hoth Rebel Soldier jacket: See Here